Mobile telephone service is typically purchased either via a monthly payment plan or on a pre-paid basis. In the latter case, customers periodically engage in “top up” transactions from time to time in order to pre-pay for additional “air time”.
In some cases mobile telephone customers are permitted to perform top up transactions via automatic teller machines (ATMs). For example, the customer may insert his/her payment card (i.e., credit or debit card) into the ATM in order to charge the top up to his credit/debit card account.
The present inventor has now recognized that there are opportunities for enhancing the convenience of mobile telephone top up transactions undertaken via ATMs.